ADDIS ABABA TODAY
By JOHN M. MELLY IT was a fortunate day for Abyssinia when the present Emperor; Haile Selassie I, came' 'MI-the throne; He is unquestionably by far the wisest and moSt enlightened man ever to hold the reins of government in that country. Having travelled widely in .Europe, he returned tO Ethiopia determined that his empire should emerge .froth the darkness of the centuries into the light of civilization;, and short as the period is since he came into power, the first-fruits of his administration must strike even the most casual observer. After spending some months in various parts of the country, I have just returned to England filled with admiration for the way in which the Emperor has tackled the stupendous task of intro- ducing Western methods and organization into a country which modern progress had never touched.
As one would expect, the greatest signs of advance are to be found among the ruling tribe of Arnharas, and especially in Addis Ababa, the mountain capital. After travelling inland for three days on the Franco-Ethiopian railway, passing through hundreds a miles of wild and desolate country, the visitor cannot but be surprised to step out on to a well-appointed station, and to find rows of luxurious taxis awaiting him outside. These are without exception American cars—big powerful saloons, clean and well kept. Even more Unexpected, perhaps, is it to find uniformed policemen on point duty at all the main cross-roads of the town—the fruit of a European Police Commission, invited, by the Emperor a few years ago to train his police force. The houses and shops, which were till quite recently all made of wood with mud walls, are rapidly being replaced by stone buildings.. The Cathedral i the Parliament and the New Palace are particularly striking examples of stone construction. At the last, furnished throughout, as it is, by an Oxford Street firm, there is little except the faces and clothes of the Ethiopian nobility and servants to remind those who dine there that it is the heart of darkest Africa and not London's Mayfair.
In Addis Ababa there are telephones, telegraph an electric lighting, several good hotels, two or three cinemas, and many shops in which one may buy almost anything within reason from a motor-car to a Pair of silk stockings. Hospital accommodation in the capital exceeds that of most English towns in the number of beds per 100,00.0 Population, and although most of the hospitals are run by missionary societies, it is to a great extent due to the Emperor that they exist at all. An earnest Christian himself, and ruler of a nominally Christian people, he has yet some 8,000,000 Mohammedans and pagans among his subjects ; and he is anxious to see Christian influence spread amongst these. Consequently he has wel- comed missionaries into the country, and made lavish gifts of land and money for the building of mission hospitals and stations. The best equipped hospital in the country, however, with a' modern operating-theatre, sterilization- plant and X-Ray department, has been built 'and furU- ished,' and is supported, entirely out of "Maje sty ' s private purse. Though small at the moment, it was, at the beginning'of the present crisis, in the process of being enlarged' Up to 300 beds,' with the object of instituting a Medical School. Nor is it 'in Addis Ababa alone that the Government has instituted its own Hospitals. Iri Harrair, Atha Tafari 'and other places small govemnient Hospitals and clinics have made their appearance in recent years. Education; though still only for the few, is progressing rapidly. In the capital the Emperor has. his Own school, bearing his name, while the Empress Mils a' girls' or- phanage: State. schools have been founded' in many' parts of the country, providing a remarkably thorough educa- tion,' so that natives speaking fluent English and French are by no means a rarity.
But these are merely the outward and visible signs . of the organization and progress which have been taking place in Ethiopia in the last decade. The work of the law courts, the abolition of such useless punishments as that of amputation of the hand for robbery, the Em- peror's gift of premises for a hospital for sick animals, his tireless fight against slavery, and the building of mach- needed roads, are all examples of less spectacular but vitally important reforms. And this progress is spreading in an ever-increasing circle from the seat of government in Addis Ababa. It is only as comnumications are im- proved, roads built, and aerodromes constructed that it becomes possible to get each more distant province in turn organized and under central control. -Under present conditions many of the primitive border tribes are six weeks' journey from the capital. Consequently, they are still comparatively lawless, and it is here that slavery has not yet been successfully .dealt with, and that raids over the border occur all too frequently. The Abyssinians, however, have no monopoly of either slave, or cattle raids. The border-Sudanese raid Abyssinian territory and carry; of Slaves probably almost as frequently as the Abys- sinian tribes raid the Sudan ; and few people seem, to realize that the frontier incident which,, resulted in the death of Lieut. Bernard last January was started by French Somalis raiding across the border into Abyssinia. I , While European men, women and children have travelled and lived in safety in almost every other part of the country, the Danakils, whose territory borders that of Italian Eritrea, remain wild, lawless and a rear source of danger to anyone who dares to penetrate into their country, be it Abyssinian or European. But even here the Government have made a start, and a strong military post has recently been established some 30 miles into the heart of the arid country inhabited by these' primitive people.
Ethiopia is still centuries behind European civilization, several of her outlying provinces are inadequately con- trolled and, in the ease of the Danakils, almost completely uncontrolled, by the Government; and slavery, while abolished in the central: provinces, has still to. be tackled in the outlying regions ; but such immense strides have been taken under the present Emperor's administration that it would be difficult to question either his sincerity or his ability. One leaves Ethiopia with a feeling of having witnessed a fascinating spectacle—that of order emerging out of chaos.
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